AJ Tracey launches initiative to help support Black students at Oxford University
UK rapper AJ Tracey has launched a new fund to help Black students studying at Oxford University.
The AJ Tracey Fund aims to address “historic underrepresentation” of Black students at Oxford and will provide students with financial assistance, mentorship schemes and more.
Speaking to The Guardian about the new scheme, the musician said: “I think, in general, for anyone who doesn’t understand why Black people who have managed to become successful want to help Black kids, it should be self-explanatory. The whole country is catered towards white people and we’re just trying to level the playing field by helping Black kids.”
Tracey then went on to discuss the barriers he had faced in his own education.“I truly believe that I had the potential to go [to Oxford or Cambridge]. But it was just understood that if you’re from an impoverished upbringing or ethnic background it’s very hard to get in,” he said.
“Even if you’re intelligent, even if you know you can get those grades, it just feels out of reach. Unfortunately, the society that we live in, you know, doesn’t favour people from a background like me. It’s not a sob story, it just is what it is.”
The criteria for the fund is kept vague in hopes of offering equal opportunities to all who wish to apply, while the fund will be granted individually upon review. Tracey’s initiative will act as a stepping stone for the university, hoping to ignite positive change for years to come.
